Plumbing – Dishwasher water backup

I am the original person who wrote this. My dishwasher is in the corner of the kitchen. Someone once remodeled the kitchen & took out the door that use to be there. Unfortunately they didn't insulate the wall they replaced it with. As a result that corner of this house gets really cold. I have tried using a small heater in the enclosed space next to the dishwasher but that didn't resolve the problem. I've also used a hairdryer under it; still no luck. It doesn't leak anywhere which always amazes me. For 8 years now the dishwasher doesn't work once it gets bitter cold here in Wyoming, but works fine starting in late Spring.

So I wanted to know if I could just put in hot water when the proper cycle arose? My dishwasher is now 10 years olds so I decided, "What the heck? Worse outcome: buy a new dishwasher". No one had an answer so I decided this year to just do it. I put in 1 1/2 gallons for the pre-wash, wash & rinse cycles. This required being in the kitchen the entire time so I didn't miss a cycle. WORKED FINE in my Kenmore dishwasher. Hope others have the same luck.

I don't use my dishwasher but once every 3 weeks or so (I hand wash a lot) & I was recently told I should use it every week. Something about them sitting isn't good. So I'll try that also & see if that prevents it from 'freezing up' (I'm still keeping the little heater next to it on too.)

There shouldn't be any standing water inside of your dishwasher while it is not in operation.

The water could be a few different things, but I would check first to see if water from your sink is being siphoned into the dishwasher. Depending on the install, you will either need a high loop on your dishwasher waste line, or an air gap device.

A high loop basically is when you bring the drain up much higher than the trap in the sink so the water from the sink goes down the drain instead of into your dishwasher. I did this in my own home by fastening the pipe to the bottom of my cabinet before it drops down to the dishwasher.

Your dishwasher may also be defective and is not draining correctly. The pump should be sucking out all of the water from your dishwasher down the drain. There is a possibility that there is something clogging it and preventing it from emptying all the way. Since you already had people out to look at it, then that probably isn't what is causing the problem.

Another possibility is that the sewer itself is backing up into your home. Since the dishwasher is one of the lowest points in your home, the water will go in there first.